13/12/2017

That thing you do when you don’t write the blog you’re supposed to…

Street Voices 6

This is not the blog it was supposed to be.

I had another one mapped out in my head. It was about protagonists – what is a protagonist drama, how you write one, what the problems are, and why that matters. It was, is, a pretty good idea, and I’ll probably get to write it soon. Probably.

But then other things happened. I got sick. One of my kids got sick. Nothing serious, but enough to throw me off schedule. Other deadlines loomed. And the time I’d set aside for serious thinking and writing about playwriting shrank to nothing at all.

So I’m writing this instead. This is a blog about what you do when what you want to do isn’t possible. Because that’s the situation we’re all in one way or another, most of the time. We have in our heads the perfect thing. That play, that article, that book, that project. If we can just find the time. The right place. The right funding. It’ll happen. But it never is quite the right time, or right place, and definitely almost never the right funding.

This is about doing the best thing you can with what is possible right now. And that means with whatever you’ve got going on right now. Whether you’re a writer on a play, or a student on a project, whatever you are making or doing, you’re carrying with you all the stuff that is happening for you now. Acknowledge it, then use it, lose it, leave it, or make with it. The choice is yours – to see what the POSSIBLE options are and pick the best one you can in those circumstances.

This time of year, whether or not you celebrate Christmas, can feel overwhelming. So much to do, so little time. If you’re a writer/maker it is ok to press the creative pause button (looming deadlines notwithstanding). It is ok if the thing you are writing/making isn’t the best thing, or the perfect thing, or even the thing you thought you’d be writing when you started out.

We’ll see you back here in January. When I will get that other blog written (oh yes I will). And we’ll have a new programme bursting with new opportunities. Until then have a good Christmas (if celebrating) and happy and peaceful New Year.

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